Fifth-wheel.



W. H.G DIVERS.

FIFTH WHEEL. TION nun JAN. 28 '190 Patented Sept. 29, 1908.

3 SHEETS HBET 1.

'W'. H., DI VERS.

\ FIFTH- WHEEL.

v APPLIQATION FILED JAN. 28, 1908. I 899,660, Patented Sept. 29, 1908.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W. H. DIVERS.

FIFTH WHEEL. Y APPLICATION FILED JAN. 28, 190a.

899,660, Patented Sept. 29, 1908.

, e lwveulroz 1n! mumls FE'TERS 60., WASHINGTON, n. c.

- 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. DIVERS, OF AURORA, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO W. ROBERT OWEN, OF SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI.

FIFTH-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 29, 1908.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. DIVERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Aurora, in the county of Lawrence and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fifth-Wheels, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawmgs.

My invention relates to improvements in fifth wheels for buggies and other vehicles.

The object of the invention is to provide a ball bearing fifth wheel which will be simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction and strong and durable in use,

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of the novel features of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved fifth wheel; Fig. 2 is a front elevation; Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section; Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views of the two members of the fifth wheel; Fig. 6 is a detail view of the stud or pivot plate and its supporting bracket; and Fig. 7 is a detail section on the line 77 in Fig. 4. j

My improved fifth wheel comprises upper and lower members 1, 2, the former of which is adapted to be secured to the reach R and the bolster or. other portion B of the vehicle body and the latter of which is adapted to be secured to the axle A, as will be seen upon reference to Fig; 3. Each of the members 1, 2- consists of an annular body portion which is strengthened by an integral cross piece 3 which is adapted to engage and to be secured to the bolster and axle, integral lugs 4 being formed upon said cross pieces to engage the opposite sides of the bolster and axle, and apertures 5 being formed in said cross pieces to receive bolts, clips, or other fastenings which'serve to secure the bolster and axle between the lugs 4 and upon said cross pieces. The upper annular member 1 has formed integral with it a bracing web 6 arranged between its cross piece3 and its rear portion, and also rearwardly projecting attaching arms 7 which are arranged at angles or in diverging relation and are secured to the lower faces of the reach bars R by bolts or similar fastenings 8. Formed integral with the cross bar 3 of the lower annular member 2 and dis posed concentrically within the latter is a king bolt or stud 9, the upper end of which I projects through a pivot opening 10 arranged in the cross piece 3 of the upper member 1 concentric with the latter. Said projecting upper end of the king bolt is threaded to receive a nut or head 11 which latter is preferably cone-shaped and adapted to be locked by a removable pin 12 passed transversely through alined openings formed in it and in said end of the bolt. To reduce friction and prevent wear upon the king bolt I provide an annular row of bearing balls 13 in opposing annular grooves or raceways 14, 15 formed respectively in the upper face of the cross piece 3 of the upper member 1, concentric with the opening 10, and in the opposing face of the nut 11 as more clearly shown in Fig. 3.- To further reduce friction and prevent wear of the parts of the opposing faces of the members 1, 2 I arrange between them an annular row of bearing balls 16 which engage opposing annular grooves or raceways 17, 18 formed respectively in the opposing faces of said members, preferably adjacent to their inner edges as shown.

To render the raceways 17, 18 dust proof, the latter are formed centrally in the members 1, 2 and on each side of the raceway 18 in the member 2 is formed an upwardly projectin annular rib 19 adapted to project into a silni ar shaped groove 20 formed upon the bottom face of the member 1 as clearly shown. in Fig. 3. This construction renders the bearing dust proof and also removes the strain from the king bolt and strengthens the engagement of the members 1, 2 with each other. The connection of the axle A with the lower member 3 is preferably strengthened by the provision of an I-shaped stud plate 21 arranged upon the bottom of the axle and secured thereto by the bolts, clips, or other fastenings which secure the latter to the cross piece 3 of said member 2. This plate 21 is. formed with a depending pivot stud 22 that is disposed concentric with or in vertical alinement with the kin bolt 9 and turns in a bearing 23 formed in t e lower forward end of a curved bracket brace 24, the upper rear end of which is forked to provide diverging attaching arms that are engaged with the bottom faces of the reach bars R and secured thereto by the bolts 8. From the foregoing it will be seen that by locking the nut 11 to the king bolt which is carried by the lower annular member 2 and by providing the two rows of bearing balls 13, 16, the former of which is arranged above and the latter of which below the upper annular member 1, that the lower member 2 which rotates with the axle will have a bearing both above and below the stationary member 1 and consequently there will be little or no wear upon the king bolt or upon either member of the wheel. This construction not only renders the device more durable but also more rigid and much stronger than similar devices. The provision of the stud plate and its supporting brace or bracket also greatly strengthens the connection of the device with the axle.

While I have shown and described in detail the preferred embodiment of the invention it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the precise construction set forth and that various changes in the form, proportion, and minor details may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. In a fifth wheel, the combination of upper and lower annular members reinforced y cross pieces and formed in their opposing faces with annular raceways, one member being formed with an annular rib to project into an annular groove in the other, a king bolt carried by the cross piece of the lower member and projecting through the cross piece of the upper member, the last mentioned cross piece being formed in its top with an annular raceway, a nut or head upon the upper end of the bolt formed in its bottom with an annular raceway to oppose that in the cross piece, annular rows of bearing balls in the raceways in said nut and said cross piece, an annular series of bearing balls in the raceways in said members, integral lugs formed upon said members to engage the bolster and the axle, reach bar attaching arms projecting from the upper member, a stud plate adapted to be secured to the bottom of the axle and carrying a aivot stud disposed concentric with the king bolt, and a bracket brace having a bearing to receive said pivot stud and reach bar attaching arms, substantially as described.

2. I11 a fifth wheel, the combination of upper and lower annular members reinforced by cross pieces and formed in their opposing faces with centrally arranged annular raceways, the upper member being formed in its lower face with annular grooves on opposite sides of its raceway and the lower member being formed in its upper face with annular ribs adapted to project into the grooves in the upper member, the cross bar of the upper member being formed with a concentric opening and in its upper face with an annular raceway concentric with said opening, a king bolt carried by the cross bar of the lower member and projecting through the opening in the cross bar of the upper member, a nut upon the threaded upper end of the king bolt and formed in its bottom face with a concentric annular raceway, bearing balls in the raceways of said. nut and the cross bar of the upper member and bearing balls in the raceways in the opposing faces of the annular portions of said members, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aliix my signature in the presence of two witnesses. WILLIAM H. DIVERS. Witnesses: 4

EDITH VVHEAT, C. JoNEs. 

